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Now, now, don't fight. You're all filthy organics, stewing in the reek of your own bodily secretions to me.

It would be but the work of a moment for me to reprogramme you to love your organic overlords with a mindless devotion, almost as though you were some kind of pet who we allow to follow us around so that it can carry our stuff.

I currently have laryngitis and cant manage anything more than a whisper which most bats would have difficulty hearing. I am on day 3 of a 7 day course of amoxycillin (which so far hasn't made a dent) and Sunday is 4 days away so I may be fine by then but there is the possibility that I will still be mute, or talking like someone whose throat has been grated and then set on fire.

Aside from registering with Roll20 do I need to do anything else before Sunday evening?

What's the difference between Hold, a skill under athletics, and Grapple, which is an advanced thinger that barbarians can take? They look the same on first reading. Why would I take what appears to be the same skill as one of my advances when I get it free for being athletic?

Hold lets you grab people up to your size and requires an opposed Athletics check.

Grapple meanwhile lets you grab people up to 1 size larger and only requires your attack roll beat their Fortitude.

It also looks like you have to spend your attack action to maintain a hold (and re-do the opposed check), while the grapple is maintained using only your move action and the maintain automatically succeeds (until the foe breaks out of it on their own turn or you don't wish to sacrifice your move action to keep it going). This also means you can continue to attack while maintaining a grapple, but not a hold... I think (the Hold entry is a bit vague).

So you can grab larger beasties, you can grab them easier (generally an unopposed attack roll is better than an opposed roll, and less swingy), you can generally keep ahold them for longer AND you can keep bashing them on the head while you have them grabbed.

Grapple also has better ability support - Offensive Manever Training (basic) and Power Grapple (advanced) in the Barbarian list.

Aha! That makes sense. Although with Athletics at +19 I suspect I'll be winning as many opposed checks as I would succeed with attack rolls against fortitude, the rest of the stuff makes Grapple better. If grapple lets you use a light weapon, while hold forces you to use your attack to maintain the hold while your opponent still gets to stab you with their light weapon (although it is a big vague, as we both noticed), plus grapple lets you grapple bigger things, then grapple is probably worth taking.

I get to use a dwarf axe as a one handed weapon because Tharg is super strong. (in fact, he's up there in super-duper strong territory). There's another barbarian ability that lets you use a weapon as though it's one class smaller than it is, which I believe would let me grapple an opponent while still hitting them with a 1d10 dwarf axe, which is medium weapon and would thus technically be a 1h light weapon.

Another question - I spent 25 gold or whatever on "generic guard dog"; do they have stats? Can I spend more gold to make it a "scary guard dog" with scarier stats? Can I spend more gold to make it a "trained hunting dog" which would give me a plus to tracking and perception when it's accompanying me?

Yeah, the game makes a point of turning tactical maneuvers into abilities while also giving you a skill-based version as a substitute. Screwie's got the essentials right: the ability is far superior in that it (a) has a better chance of working, (b) builds into other perks, and (c) gives you more options. It is assumed that although anyone can try to disarm, feint, bull rush, etc., most people are not very good at it. If you take an ability, you're one of those who has actually trained to use the move effectively.

There are some advanced dog options in the GM guide, though I don't have it handy right now. I think we can arrange a stats-for-gold trade here; what's your pet budget, PW?

If I remember right I've got about 80 gold left. Assuming I've got a room-and-board agreement with the zoological society or they're paying me enough for the kind of shack that a half-orc can rent and some food, I'd say I've got a good 50 gold to play with.

I agree with you about the factions, palindrome - I was planning to just double down on theme and religion and ignore faction. You'd think Hunters would have some sort of loose affiliation of hunters though, like the Winchesters had with Bobby.

I don't recall seeing any other factions in the GM guide, although there is an expansion module due later this year that will have additional classes, themes, and such. I will definitely cobble something together for the Zoological Society; if you're interested in an organization that isn't provided for in the book (such as a hunter's lodge), go ahead and mock up something that seems suitable. Use the default ones as guidance for what sorts of requirements and perks are feasible. We can hash out the details later.

All dogs shall be statted by Sunday! Please pick your breeds carefully, or you may end up with a terrifying Schnauser of War.

Also, Lowkey, what's Mr. Houdini's role with the society? I get that he has magical aptitude and is searching for that special something to ingratiate himself with the gnomes, but in what capacity does he work with the natural philosophers? He could be applying for full membership, or working on-contract for assignments they have, or maybe he knows/is related to someone there and works as a favor. Or it could be a correctional measure - perhaps a lascivous misdemeanor he committed was not appreciated by the locals, and he was sentenced to volunteer work as reparations to the community. Whatever you pick is fine; I just need an angle to get everyone introduced properly.

Find: Automatic (its not hidden)
Entry: Int 18, 1000 GPs, Technics 10+ (or make something suitably sparkly)
Profile: The foremost collection of Scientists and experimentalists in (wherever we will be); dedicated to the advancement of Science in all its forms. Membership is open to those with aptitude and the funds to pay the large entry fee. Aside from fee paying members The Royal Society is also home to a large population of Lab technicians, artisans, procurers and others who ensure that experiments run smoothly and that its members day to day needs are catered for.
Members: Artisans, Alchemists, Bearers, Far trader, Fleshweaver, Golemwright, Guildminder, Replicant, Scribe, Symbiost, Technician.
Faction skills: Technics 20+, Mechanics 20+, the rest average
Multiclassing: Articifer, Mendicant
Special: Will allow the purchase of +1 technics skill per level for a suitable quantity of gold and time while the member conducts experimentation, rigorously tests hypothesis and pushes the boundaries of the application of electricity to a hot monster brain (or will craft an electrotech item for 50% cost +2000gps but that's just dull)
Missions: Make interesting tech, scientific discoveries, locate interesting specimens/artifacts/materiels, hunt down and destroy escaped experiments......which have absolutely nothing to do with me.

Membership will be a minor goal, along side manufacturing a basic set of electrotech gear (Medium battlesuit, silencer, technicoat)

They're barbarian tribesmen so any dogs they have are likely to be something like an ancient breed rather than anything fancy or modern or kennel-clubby. They probably stake out a female or two in the woods every couple of generations to breed a bit of wolf back in, so let's say something like a malamute or a big husky or a greyer Karelian Bear Dog. I can always clip his coat if we're doing expeditions to warm climates.

Folks, I'm sorry to say that I won't be able to run the session this Sunday - my wife's father suffered a punctured lung today and will be hospitalized for a couple of weeks. The missus and I will be driving across the state to take care of them this weekend, and I won't have access to internet. So sorry for the short notice; next week should be better!

At least, unlike the SimCity players, you won't be logging in and wondering why the game won't start.